Saxe-Gotha, Reichsthaler 1671, RARE

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Ernest I, 1640-1675, Reichsthaler 1671

On the occasion of the marriage of his son Bernhard with Maria Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt

Obv.The name of God shines on a crowned couple in handshake, above the dove of marital love

Rev.12 lines of writing

Historical

Bernhard was the third son of Duke Ernest I of Saxony-Gotha and his wife Elisabeth Sophia of Saxe-Altenburg.

In 1671 he married Maria Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt in Gotha, the youngest daughter of Landgrave George II. In the beginning the couple resided in Ichtershausen, where Bernhard built a castle for his wife. In her honor it was called Marienburg.

After a division and resolution of an inheritance conflict in 1680 the two nobles became the first rulers of Saxe-Meiningen. In the same year Maria Hedwig died at the age of 32 shortly after the birth of her last child. She should not live to see the relocation of the court.

The couple had seven children together, including the next two dukes of Saxe-Meiningen Ernest Louis I and Frederick William.